How to answer: “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

No matter how much you prepare for an interview, it’s easy to get tripped up by seemingly simple questions. One question that can be tricky to answer is, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” In fact, I find that this question has made me think of a ton of other questions: Five years here? Have I even thought that far? What is the hiring manager really getting at?

Thankfully, in the video below by Dice TV, they outline the five things hiring managers are looking for when they ask this question. Watch it and learn how to craft a compelling answer.

How have you answered this question? Any other tips to add? Share them in the comments.

In my opinion, this question has no place in an interview as no one has a crystal ball to know where they might be five hours from now, let alone five years from today. It is a “set-up” question to which the answer depends on so many unknowables. I personally hate this question.